Amidst the piercing pain, Qian Duoduo's Spiritual Vein twitched violently, then suddenly relaxed.
With this twitch and release, the Spiritual Vein widened slightly.
This was exactly what the sect's Jade Slip described as the first step on the path to Foundation Establishment.
Opening the Mortal Vein and establishing the Immortal Sea.
The so-called 'Opening the Heavens and Splitting the Earth' is actually about opening up oneself.
For some wealthy young masters, if they did not choose The Righteous Foundation Establishment, they would only need to ask a Cultivator of Golden Core or higher to help them complete the opening of their Spiritual Sea.
Simply by sleeping, they would advance from Qi Condensation Great Perfection to Foundation Establishment Initial Stage.
But Qian Duoduo couldn't do that; he couldn't rely on his father, his mother, or his Family.
He retracted all his Spiritual Awareness, enduring the intense pain of expanding his Spiritual Vein, and continuously rotated the Earthly Path Power.
A silver Spiritual Sea slowly formed, growing larger and larger.
When the last trace of Earthly Path Power disappeared, an egg-sized Spiritual Sea hovered in the center of his abdomen, and the Spiritual Qi within it was no longer Qi, but true Spirit Liquid.
Spiritual Sea, where Spiritual Qi forms a sea.
If the original Spiritual Vein was a small stream or river, now, within that small stream or river, a large lake had been constructed.
This large lake could further expand into a sea, and the sea could expand into an ocean.
The moment the Spiritual Qi formed a sea, all of Qian Duoduo's pain vanished, and he felt relaxed.
Not only that, he felt incredibly light; without even needing to activate his Spiritual Qi, he could step on his Flying Sword and ascend into the air.
He released his Spiritual Awareness, and it was several times stronger than before.
He could see further, in more detail, and deeper.
Upon entering Foundation Establishment, Qian Duoduo's communication with the outside world became more convenient, and he absorbed Spiritual Qi more quickly and in greater quantities.
He finally became a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, achieving Jin Buhuan's goal and his own goal of becoming a true immortal Cultivator!
Releasing his Spiritual Awareness, Qian Duoduo saw the situation in the Yin Peach Forest.
While he was fully focused on Foundation Establishment, countless Sha Souls surged madly from the entrance, and the Puppets hidden in the Yin Peach Forest continuously killed them.
Whether they were Sha Beasts or Sha Birds, they had no intention of fighting the Puppets; they only wanted to rush to the altar.
Precisely because of this, as the Sha Souls moved through the forest, they were struck by the Puppets at every turn, inevitably falling on the path to the altar.
The silver-white Spirit Liquid they transformed into, by inertia, splashed onto the altar.
Upon reaching the altar, it was sucked by a whirlwind into the Jade Box beneath the platform, transforming into drops of soul liquid.
At this moment, the soul liquid in the Jade Box was almost full!
Qian Duoduo had three Golden Bottles in his hand. The extra ones were obtained from the Disciples of other sects.
He quickly took out the orange Golden Bottle and filled it with soul liquid.
Once the soul liquid entered the bottle, it all transformed into Earthly Path Power.
Qian Duoduo thought for a moment, then filled the green and blood-colored Golden Bottles with soul liquid as well.
As the soul liquid flowed into the bottles, it all transformed into Earthly Path Power!
With more than half a box of soul liquid remaining, Qian Duoduo stored it in his Golden Toad and took out a new Jade Box to place beneath the altar.
This time, he made a huge profit!
Qian Duoduo sat down, happily watching the soul liquid drip into the Jade Box.
Liu Boli sat with his eyes closed in the Golden Toad. In this Secret Realm, he couldn't communicate with Qian Duoduo. If he knew about all this soul liquid, he would certainly be very happy too.
Upon entering the Foundation Establishment Realm, the artisan artifact that Qian Duoduo previously found somewhat difficult to use, now felt effortless.
The Golden Rooster Sword he used before and the Golden Claw Armor he wore were both high-grade Mortal Weapons.
Before coming to the Secret Realm, he had asked Liu Boli to refine high-grade artisan artifact Golden Rooster Sword and Golden Claw Armor in advance.
As a person advances, their Magic Treasure advances synchronously!
After changing into the Golden Claw Armor, Qian Duoduo returned to the Yin Peach Forest and checked the Puppets.
After continuously killing Sha Souls, several Dan artifact Puppets were somewhat damaged.
Two sweeping Puppets had only bare sticks left of their brooms.
Most importantly, the Spiritual Qi stored in the Puppets was not much left.
Once the Spiritual Qi ran out, the Puppets would stop functioning.
Qian Duoduo ran a big circle, refilling the Spiritual Qi of all the Puppets.
He checked the Formation again, saw that it was still intact, and then sat back down in the center of the Yin Peach Forest to begin adapting to the Foundation Establishment Realm.
The endless stream of Sha Souls rushing into the Yin Peach Forest served perfectly for practice.
From the entrance, a Spirit Alligator Turtle, as large as a Golden Ox, crawled in. A low-grade Jin Beast, it savagely bit and devoured the Spirit Cats blocking its way as it crawled. Those that were slow to dodge were directly swallowed whole.
Qian Duoduo circulated the Everlasting Wealth and Nobility Art and the Turning Stone into Gold Art, injecting Spiritual Qi into his high-grade artisan artifact Golden Rooster Sword, and unleashed a full-powered slash. Before coming to the Secret Realm, Qian Duoduo had mastered the third layer of the Turning Stone into Gold Art.
A golden-yellow sword light, condensed as if solid, slammed onto the head of the Spirit Alligator Turtle. The Spirit Alligator Turtle's head was protected by three layers of scales, making it its hardest point, even three times tougher than the shell on its back.
Seeing the sword light approaching, the Spirit Alligator Turtle didn't panic. It opened its mouth and spat out a stream of black Qi, which met the sword light. The black Qi was gloomy and foul-smelling; it was the Death Qi accumulated within its body, and also its Sharp Weapon for attacking enemies.
“Puff.”
The sword light collided with the black Qi.
The sword light thinned considerably, yet still pierced through the black Qi, striking the Spirit Alligator Turtle's head.
Seeing that the black Qi failed to block the sword light, the Spirit Alligator Turtle roared in anger, charging forward, and a phantom image resembling a small mountain crashed towards Qian Duoduo.
This move was surprisingly its Spell attack, Mountain-Shaking Ram!
Qian Duoduo squeezed the hilt of the Golden Rooster Sword forcefully, and a cry resembling a chicken and a Phoenix resounded.
When refining the new Golden Rooster Sword, he had asked Luan Phoenix for a shed Phoenix beak, which he refined and added to the sword tip.
Liu Boli had laughed at him then, saying he was wasting a precious resource.
The beak tip of a Yang Phoenix, let alone refining an artisan artifact, was more than enough for refining a Dan artifact.
Qian Duoduo, however, didn't mind; he still had a Phoenix beak shed by Azure Phoenix.
As soon as the cry sounded, the entire Yin Peach Forest immediately quieted down.
All the Sha Souls stopped in their tracks, shrinking their forms, remaining motionless in place, allowing the Puppet attacks to land on their bodies.
Especially those Sha Birds, one by one their bodies even began to disintegrate.
The Spirit Alligator Turtle's Mountain-Shaking Ram, like thin ash in the wind, vanished without a trace in an instant.
The head of the Spirit Alligator Turtle, the main target of the sound wave attack, instantly disappeared the moment the cry reached it, and a large hole was pierced through the Spirit Alligator Turtle's body.
Qian Duoduo was overjoyed.
The Golden Rooster Sword's sound wave attack was not just an enhancement of the Phoenix beak, but also a matter of suppression.
Sha Souls are Yin in nature, and naturally, they are difficult to resist when encountering a bright Magic Treasure like the Golden Rooster Sword.
The Golden Rooster Sword's cry echoed through the mountains, traveling an unknown distance.
Subsequently, a series of violent roars resounded from the nearby mountains, indicating unwillingness to submit, and even defiance and counterattack.
The entrance to the Yin Peach Forest immediately became even livelier.
Qian Duoduo held nothing back, unleashing the Golden Light Technique and "Ten Coins Unite as One" one after another, fully slaughtering the Sha Souls and searching for the optimal offensive and defensive methods in the Foundation Establishment Realm.
However, after casting "Ten Coins Unite as One" three times consecutively, he found his Spiritual Awareness thinning and weakening.
The Mystic Art of the Everlasting Wealth and Nobility Art was indeed powerful, but its consumption was truly astonishing.
How could he elevate his Spiritual Awareness to the next level?
Qian Duoduo thought of Nangong Nizi.
When she underwent The Righteous Foundation Establishment, she must have chosen to open the Upper Spirit Sea.
With her Upper Spirit Sea opened, the power of her Mystic Art "Body as Soul Arrow" must have greatly increased.
Suddenly, Qian Duoduo thought, if she could open the Upper Spirit Sea, why couldn't he?
None of the Jade Slips from the Three Sects stated that one couldn't open the Upper Spirit Sea after opening the Lower Spirit Sea.
And he now had the Earthly Path Power needed to open the Upper Spirit Sea right at hand!